1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and kit for the on-site determination of the presence of contaminant materials in lubricating oils through chemical analysis of representative samples of the lubricating oil.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Oil used in lubricating machines or engines is subject to mechanical wear and environmental degradation including, but not limited to, temperature, pressure, and atmospheric conditions which result in distinct wear metal trends, chemical decomposition of the oil or degradation of the machines or engines themselves, all having the effect of causing a build-up of contaminant materials within the lubricating oil. This build-up requires that the lubricating oil be periodically monitored in order to determine the concentration of contaminant materials present within the oil since as the contaminant material concentration increases, the remaining usable lifetime of the oil decreases to the point where continued use of oil containing a high concentration of contaminants is detrimental to the proper operation of the machine or engine. Such contaminant concentration increase necessitates replacement of the oil with oil containing a low concentration of contaminant materials to avoid machine or engine damage. Conversely, changing the lubricating oil too early in its operational lifetime results in significant and unnecessary expenses.
Machines, engines, or compressors used to power oil drilling, petrochemical or transportation equipment, utilize many gallons of lubricating oil. It is standard practice of oil manufacturers to add to the oil active extreme pressure and/or anti-corrosive materials which tend to inhibit the formation and/or build-up of contaminant materials. As the machines, engines, or compressors are operated, the concentration of active extreme pressure and/or anti-corrosive additives is depleted to the point where they fail to perform their inhibitory function, thus resulting in discernible increases in the amount of contaminant material existing within the lubricating oil. Further, these additives may be organic and/or organo-metallic chemical compounds which, due to the operating environment and conditions of the machines, may degrade into acidic and/or basic components. Such acidic and/or basic materials may have detrimental effects on the internal components of the machines, thereby also necessitating oil replacement.
Characteristically, the lubricating oil used in drilling, petrochemical, or transportation machines or engines has an operational lifetime dependent upon the quality of the lubricating oil, method of operation of the machines or engines, possible process contamination inherent in petrochemical production, and the environment parameters to which the lubricating oil is subjected. Failure to replace lubricating oil that contains a high concentration of contaminant material causes damage to the machines or engines themselves and results in very significant repair and replacement costs. Methods existing prior to the invention described herein for determining the concentration of contaminant materials in lubricating oils as generally described in chemical texts and ASTM manuals have utilized chemical procedures performed by a chemist or highly skilled technician at a laboratory site, all at a great cost of time and money. For example, it is a recognized practice to analyze lubricating oil with chemical instrumentation such as, for example an emission spectrometer sold by Baird-Atomic, Bedford, Mass. 01730 under the designation Model FAS-2 Fluid Analysis Spectrometer. Such analysis utilizes techniques analogous to emission spectrometry with the sample so analyzed being small quantities of lubricating oil in which is suspended minute particles of metals, i.e. wear metals. However, analysis of such oil by these techniques is difficult since the particle size of the wear metals directly influences the results obtained. For that reason emission spectrometry analysis techniques are considered semi-quantitative.
The current methods of analyzing such oil require that samples of the oil be sent to laboratories relatively far removed from the operational site. Since machines or engines are, in numerous industrial operations, used continuously it is essential that information regarding the quality of the lubricating oil be transmitted to the industrial site as quickly as possible to avoid the possibility that the lubricating oil then in use within the machines has exceeded its useful lifetime. As often is the case, current laboratory analysis of the lubricating oil at a place relatively far removed from the industrial site requires valuable time often in excess of the critical periods at which damage to the machines can occur. This extended period is due to the time involved in withdrawing a sample of the used oil, sending it to a laboratory, analyzing the sample, and transmitting the results back to the industrial site. Because of this time delay, the standard practice in industries such as the well drilling, petrochemical, and transportation industries is to replace the lubricating oil after an established operational lifetime dependent upon the operational and environmental parameters existing at the industrial site and, in some instances, without regard to the concentration of contaminants within the oil. A drawback of this standard practice is that very often the oil is replaced before the aforementioned contaminant material concentration is sufficiently high to warrant such replacement and contributes an unjustifiable expense to the cost of the entire industrial operation.